Signal-semaphore.



W. P. NEUBERT. SIGNAL SEMAPHORE.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. 17. |913.

Patentedruly 1S, 1916.

IWWM

UNITED STATES WALTER P. NEUBERT, 0F WILKINS'BURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNION SWITCH & SIGNAL COMPANY, ,OF SWISSVALE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION 0F PENNSYLVANIA.

sIGNAL-sEMAPHoRE.

' Patented' July 1s, 191e.

Application filed October 17, 1913. Serial No. 795,697. i

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, VALTER P. NEUBERT, a citizen of the United States, residing at IVillzinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Signal-Semaphores, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to semaphores.

Semaphores embodying my invention are particularly adapted for use in railway signaling, although they are not limited to this adaptation. y Y

I will describe one form of semaphore embodying my invention and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a View showing in front elevation one form of semaphore embodying my invention, a portion of the blade being broken away. Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line II-II of Fig. 1, drawn to a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a portion of the semaphore shown in the preceding views and illustrating in detail the means for securing a bolt to the semaphore blade. Fig. l is a view, partly sectioned, showing one of the bolts shown in the preceding views but before it is secured to the blade.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in each of the views.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the reference character A designates what is usually termed in the art a spectacle, which, as here shown, is formed of sheet metal and is provided with holes in which are mounted colored glasses a, a2 and a3 for night indications. yThe edges of the spectacle are preferably bentover, as shown,

to form flanges a4 for the purpose of stiffening the spectacle. The spectacle A is` secured to a casting 11 which latter is fixed to a. shaft 13 which is oscillated by a suitable signal mechanism (not shown) to move f the spectacle and the parts carried thereby.

The spectacle A is provided with a plurality of holes 10 by means of which a blade B embodying my invention is attached thereto. This blade is vformed of thin sheet metal, usually steel, and is preferably coated with a vitreous enamel `which preserves the metal and provides a color which is not readily effaced by exposure to the weather. The edges of the blade B are preferably bent over, as shown, to form flanges 12 for the purpose of stiifening the blade longitudinally, and the blade is further stifi'ened in the same direction by ribs 15 formed by pressiZng the blade into the shape shown in -{lgv' -The blade B is attached to'the spectacle A by bolts 16 passing through the holes 10, and through suitable holes 17 in theblade. In my invention the heads of these bolts 16 are secured to the blade B, v1thereby greatly increasing-the facility with, which the blade lmay be attached to and removed-from the The method of securing they spectacle A. bolts to the blade will be explained hereinafter.

As hereinbefore stated, the blade B is preferably coated with a vitreous enamel. During the process of enameling, the blade is subjected to a very high temperature and is then allowed to cool slowly. This enameling process must be carried4 out after the bolts have been secured to the blade, and if the bolt heads were left solid, then'during j the process of cooling, the bolt heads and the blade proper would contract unequally, due to the fact that the latter would dissipate heat more rapidly than the former,

and this would have a tendency to cause the 'Y enamel around the bolt heads to crack. To avoid this, I preferably hollow out the bolt heads to form a cavity 18, thus avoiding the mass of metal which would otherwise have a tendency to cause the enamel to .l

crack.

In Fig. l I have shown one of the bolts 16 as it appears before placing in the blade B. The head of the bolt is hollowed out to form the cavity 18, and the'outside of the head near the end is turned down to such diameter that it will fit snugly into the hole 17 in lthe blade B. Theturned down end of theV bolt head is pushed into the hole 17 until it is stopped by the `shoulder 19 formed lby the turned down portion V(see Fig. 3), and the rim of the bolt head is then preferably peened over as shown against the blade B so that the bolt is held in place. The bolt head is then welded -to the blade at 20, and if desired, at 21 also,

against the spectacle with the bolts 16 passing through the holes 10, and to screw nuts 23 on the threaded portions of the bolts. This can readily be accomplished by one man, whereas when the bolts are separate from the blade, thereby necessitating clamps and hair pads, as has heretofore been the case, two men were required to attach the blade to the spectacle. The nuts 23 are preferably prevented from turning, after being screwed into place, by a suitable nutlocl 24, which, as here shown, is a strip of thin metal provided with holes near its ends through which pass two of the bolts 16. After the nuts 23 are in place the ends of this strip are bent, as shown in Fig. 2, so that they engage one of the flat sides of each nut. One nut lock 24E is provided for each pair of bolts.

One advantage of my invention is that I am enabled to dispense with clamps, hair pads, etc., and thereby to greatly reduce the number of parts, and make it possible for one man to attach the blade to the spectacle.

Another advantage of my invention is, that by the use of bolts having the shoulders 19 against which the blade B rests, no part of the surface of the blade touches the spectacle A, hence there is no danger of the enameled surface of theblade being broken. Furthermore, since the blade is separated from the spectacle by a considerable space, I am enabled to provide the stiflening flanges 12, and these flangeslikewise do not touch the spectacle so the enamel on these flanges is not apt to be chipped by the spectacle. It will be noted in Fig. 3, that the flanges 12 on the spectacle are separated by a considerable distance from the flanges a4 on the spectacle, hence the flanges on these two members are not brought together by slight movement of the blade relative to the spectacle. The opportunity to thus provide the flanges 12 on the blade is of great importance, since these flanges add greatly to the strength of the blade at the point where the bending moment is greatest, and they enable the use of a blade formed of thinner metal than would otherwise be possiblethereby reducing the weight of the blade.

Another advantage obtained by my invention is that no clamps are required; when clamps are used they sometimes crack the enamel, allowing water to get in and rust the metal of the blade. Still another advantage is that by bolting the blade directly to the spectacle, the blade cannot sag; this sometimes happens when the blade is attached to the spectacle through the medium of clamps, because hair or felt fillers are then required and these fillers may become further compressed due to the operation of the semaphore and thereby permit the bolts to loosen.` f

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A signal semaphore comprising a spectacle, a blade of thin sheet metal, and bolts whose heads are secured to the blade for attaching the blade to the spectacle, the heads of the bolts being hollowed out to reduce the mass of metal, and the blade and bolt heads beingcoated with enamel.

2. A semaphore comprising a spectacle, an enameled blade, bolts for attaching the blade to the spectacle, andV means for rigidly securing the blade tothe head of each bolt at a distance from the surface of the bolt which is in contact with the spectacle, whereby the blade is not in contact with the spectacle.

3. A semaphore comprising a spectacle, an enameled blade, bolts for attaching said blade to the spectacle, the heads of the bolts being provided with shoulders, and means for securingrthe blade to said bolt heads against said shoulders, whereby the blade is not in contact with the spectacle.

4l. A semaphore comprising a spectacle, an enameled sheet metal blade whose edges are bent toward the spectacle to form stifl'ening flanges, the spectacle overlapping the edges of the blade so that the said stiffening flanges are opposite the spectacle, bolts for attaching the blade to the spectacle, and means for securing the blade to the head of each bolt at a distance from the surface of the bolt which is in contact with the surface of the spectacle, whereby the said flanges on the blade do not touch the spectacle.

5. A semaphore comprising a sheet metal spectacle, an enameled sheet metal blade, the edges of the blade being bent toward the spectacle to provide stiffening flanges, and the edges of the spectacle being bent toward the blade to likewise providev stiffening flanges, the flanges on the spectacle overlapping and lying outside of those on the blade, boltsr for attaching the blade to the spectacle, and meansr for rigidly securing the blade to the head of each bolt at distance from the surface of the bolt which is in contact with the spectacle.

6. A signal comprising a spectacle, ,a sheet metal blade, and bolts rigidly secured to the blade for attaching the blade to the spectacle, the entire surface of the blade being coated with enamel after the bolts are secured thereto.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WALTER l). NEUBERT. llVitnesses: i

A. C. LIVERMORE, Y A. HERMAN VVEGNER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents eachaby addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

